ARRESTS MADE IN CONTRABAND TRAFFICKING RING AT COOK COUNTY JAIL

Monday, June 30, 2014
— – An investigation into the smuggling of contraband into the Cook County Jail has resulted in the arrest of a correctional officer, a civilian and a jail detainee, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced today.

Jermaine Hoskins, 37, was taken into custody Friday afternoon near Division 2 of the jail, where he worked. He consented to a search of his vehicle, where investigators found marijuana and tobacco. The single seizure had a jail value of upwards of a $1,000. Also found were tubes of toothpaste in Hoskins vehicle. Investigators learned that caps of the toothpaste tubes were used to measure out the marijuana that was distributed to detainees.

According to the investigation, for more than a year Hoskins was paid to bring contraband items into the jail.

The investigation began in February after two cell phones were found during a search of Division 2. The Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted in this investigation.

Hoskins, who had been employed at the Sheriff’s Office for approximately two years, has been charged with bringing contraband into a penal institution by an employee, a class two felony, and official misconduct, a class three felony.

Taveda Driver, 41, of Chicago, was arrested on Friday, after an investigation found she provided payment and the items to Hoskins, according to the investigation. She is an associate of Lawrence Pope, a jail detainee. Driver was charged with bribery of a public officer, a class two felony.

Pope, 33, was arrested on Sunday and also charged with bribery of a public officer. Pope has been in jail custody since August 2013. He is being held on a $250,000 bond on an aggravated domestic battery charge.

All three appeared in bond court today at the George N. Leighton Criminal Court Building. Hoskins received a $30,000 bond with electronic monitoring, Driver, a $5,000 bond with electronic monitoring, and Pope a $200,000 bond.

Sheriff Dart reminds the public that the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty by the government in a court of law.